My Family and Meal Planning

Okay, this isn’t really about my kitchen, but it is about cooking and eating in my house these days. Things have changed a lot in our home since I started this blog, and I thought I would share the state of our family now (and a picture).

My Husband

My husband and I are still very happily married. However, he’s been doing a lot of traveling in the past year and is usually gone for a week at a time. When he’s not here, I tend to cook differently. I cook foods he doesn’t like, or I think of it more as a week off from cooking.

My Kids

Our three sons are now almost 22 (that’s my gf son), 19, and 16. When I started blogging, I was homeschooling all three of them. Since then the oldest two have graduated.

We happen to live in an area with a very good community college and several good universities within commuting distance. My sons have decided to stay home and commute to school, and since that’s what most of their friends have done, they’re happy with that.

I love the arrangement! They’re pretty independent, and sometimes not home much at all, but they do still live here, and we get to have fun times and good chats together. Sometimes they study here (maybe with a friend or girlfriend), and sometimes they study elsewhere.

My youngest is still homeschooled and is in 11th grade this year. However, this spring he is taking several classes at the community college (and will continue that next year), so he’s gone three days a week. My homeschooling responsibilities have been greatly reduced, although I am still a consultant for our umbrella program.

It’s not the best photo, but it gives you an idea of what we all look like. I had to swallow my pride in posting this picture of me since I have lost at least 20 pounds since that was taken in October.

Me

In addition to taking care of the family and homeschooling, I am now juggling several online jobs. First, I run this blog, which really is a job. If you don’t blog, you have no idea how much work it is. I wish I didn’t have to have ads on my site, but they provide me with some compensation for my time, so I hope you don’t mind.

Dinner Time

Like I said, things have changed, and it affects meal times. Sometimes everyone (and likely a friend) is home for dinner, which means cooking for 5 – 6 adults, plus enough for leftovers to go in lunches. At other times there are only two or three of us home for dinner. It changes from day to day, and I often don’t know who will show up until that evening.

Menu Planning

That makes menu planning a little more difficult. Then add in that I am eating mostly grain free and low carb and have to come up with a meal that will meet everyone’s needs, and it is a bit tricky at times.

Just so you know, the monthly and weekly menu plans are not necessarily what we are eating. I create those plans for your benefit mostly. I do refer to them but have to play it by ear from day to day.

Seasons of Life

I don’t seem to work this kind of information into my regular posts, and I like you all to have an idea of what my life is like. I feel like I’ve been entering a new season of life over the past year, and I wanted to share it with you.

Comments

Linda, I absolutely love this post! During my time “knowing” you on the internet, I’ve never seen a family photo! And I love that you are still homeschooling, and did it all the way through (I am as well, but my boys are 3 & 5).

I loved this post, too, Linda! You and all your guys look fabulous in this photo, but since I have seen you recently I know you look even better now. No matter what your weight, you always look lovely.

I really enjoyed how you shared that your family dynamics have changed and thus, your meal planning and meals, in general, have changed. While Son has been completely gone since August, leaving my job and working from home has had even more of an impact to my cooking and baking. When there are no co-workers to share food with, one just doesn’t want to go too crazy! Two people–with one having more restraint than the other–can only eat so much. 😉

That was very interesting to hear how things have changed for you. We are going through big changes as Bob recently and very unexpectedly retired. I don’t think we realize what these kinds of changes can do to the little things until we find ourselves living in the middle of them. Now that Bob’s home I have to think about lunch in a different way. I also have to resist the temptation to “over cook.”